SEFrEMBER';.3, 1880.] 



FOKEST AND STREAM. 



85 



^iuhtrai ^istorg. 



—Address all communications to " Forest and Stream 

 Pubiishi)ig Company, New York." 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION MEEriNa. 



THE tveenfcy- ninth annual meeting of the American 

 Aisociation for tlie Advancement of Science was 

 jargely attended, and in all respects successful. The 

 arrangements of the local couiraittee were excellent, and 

 everything Ivas progressed m a most satisfactory manner. 



jVt 3 o'clock on Tuesday, Aug. 34tli, a meeting of the 

 Camljiidg'! Eiiioraological Club was held, at which, after 

 an opbuiug address by Mr. Scudder, its President, were 

 read a number of important papers. Among these was 

 one by Mr. A. R. Grote on the generic characters of the 

 Nod.uidm, one by Prof. A. J. Cook, treating practical 

 apiculture, and one by Eev. H. C. MoCook on the honey 

 ants of Colorado. Prof. John L. Leconte read a paper on 

 ' -Lightning Bugs," which was of great interest. A num- 

 ber of other contributions of value were read, among 

 theui one by Dr. H. A. tlagen on the Hessian Ply, 



The opening exercises of the meeting and the general 

 business having been aocoinphshed during the morning 

 of the 3.>th, the feature of tlie day was the address of 

 Prjf. Barker, the retiring President, On the Origin of Life, 

 which excited vcrygreat interest and was listened to with 

 deep attention. In concluding the speaker said that, phys- 

 iologically considered, life had now no niysterious pas- 

 sages, no sacred precincts into whicli the unhallwed fooot 

 of science miglit not entor, and that research had day by 

 dru dimiaished the phenomena supposed to be vital, and 

 jthat sooner or later every action of the living body would 

 be pronounced chemical or physical. 



The session of the Physical Section, of which Prof. 

 Asaph Hall ia President, was intere.Jting, and several as- 

 tronomical and physical papers of value were read. Sec- 

 tion B (Natural History) was addressed by Prof. Alex- 

 ander Agassiz, its President, who delivered a most learned 

 and suggestive discoiu-se on Biological Development in 

 tlie Animal Kingdom, as Manifested in the Paleotolog- 

 ical and Eaibryologieal Study of Sea Urchins. Some of 

 the papers read before this section are as follows : Com- 

 parative Anatomy as a Part of the Medical Curriculum, 

 by Dr. Harrison Allen ; Distinguishing Species of Popii- 

 lus and Jugktns, by Young Naked Branches, by Prof. J. 

 .W, Bell; Observations on .lapenese iJrae/u'opoda, by Mr. 

 E.S.Morse; Evolution of Parasitic Plants, by Thomas 

 Meehau ; On the So-called Fine Blight of the Apple Tree, 

 by Mr. T. J. BurriU, In the sections of Geology, Chem- 

 istry and Microscopy icnportant papers were read. 



The session of the Permanent Subsection of Anthro- 

 pology, presided over by Major Powell, was very inter- 

 esting. Prof. A. S. Bickinore's paper upon the Ethnol- 

 ogy of Africa was illustrated by a colored map locating 

 many of the races o I' that continent, Myths and Folk- 

 lore of the Il'oquoia, by Krniiunie F.Smith, was listened 

 to with close attention, aud otlier papers of interest were 

 read. 



In the afternoon the exercises were not less interesting 

 than in the morning, and in the evening the association 

 listened to an address by Prof. J. Graham Bell, the in- 

 ventor of the Bell telephone, who discussed the produc- 

 tion of sound by light. 



The exercises during the remaining days of the week 

 were well attended and of great interest, but lack of space 

 prevents our giving any detailed account of the proceed- 

 ings. Cincinnati was chosen fis the next meeting place, 

 and oa Tuesday the following olHcera were elected : 

 President, Prof, Geo. J. Brush, New Haven, Conn. : Sec- 

 retary, Prof. C. V. Riley, Washington, D. C. ; Treasm'er, 

 Prof. W. S. Vaux, Philadelphia, Pa. Prof, Alfred M. 

 Mayer, of the Stevens Institute, Hoboken, N. J., was 

 chosen President of Section A. 



A TRIPARTITE CONTEST, 



THE following anecdote comes to us from a thor- 

 oughly reliable source, and certainly deserves to be 

 recorded. It is not often that such a combat is wit- 

 nessed by a man who can give an intelligent and trust- 

 worthy account of it : — 



On the 34th of July last Mr. Henry Braithwaite, of 

 Frederiokton, an experienced hunter, wlien engaged in 

 exploring timber lands in the interior of New Brunswick, 

 between the headwaters of the Northwest Miramichi 

 and those of the Tobique, witnessed an unequal contest, 

 such, indeed, as was probably never witnessed by any 

 other person, In his e.tpedition he was accompanied by 

 II well-known Melioite Indian, usually called by hunters 

 "Big Loiiis." 



When traveling up the inlet of the Big Southwest Mira- 

 michi River, about 5 or G o'clock ia the afternoon, Mr. 

 liiaithwaite heard at a distance of a quarter of a mile a 

 very strange noise, which he decribos as a combination 

 of growling and bellowing, which, increased as he ad- 

 vaucBil toward it. On turning to Louis and asking his 

 opinion of the cause of tliis noise, the Indian replied, 

 "Bears flghtiug." 



At the time that Mr. B. beard this noise his small Wesson 

 rifle was unloaded, aud he had but two cartridges in 

 his pocket, the rest being in liis bundle, and not 

 easily reached. Starting with those two, Louis called 

 gently to hiiUj "Jake more cartridges in your pocket," 



Mr. Braithwaite rcpUed, "If I stop to get the cartridges 

 the noise may stop, and I may not be able to find the 

 game," .■and accordinely pushed on with but two cart- 

 ridges, throwing off at" the same time his bundle, expect- 

 irg Ijifuis to bring it along with his own. He, however, 

 failed to do this, and left bothbehmd, and followed after 

 vith but his axe. At .^ distance of 100 yards, after run- 

 ning a quarter of a mile, Mx. Braithwaite saw the causes 

 of the strange and nnwouteil sounds. 



A huge bear, l.lie largest that he ever saw, and he has seen 

 manv, was scatiMl (m top of a vonng moose, upon wliich 

 holutdspinngnnawarts, breaking his back at the first 

 jump. Whenever the animal Littenipterl to struggle the 

 bear would seize him by tlie neck and sliake liira as a 

 dog would a hare. When tlie mouse remained quiet the 

 bear would lick the blood whicli issued from his wounds. 



Running up to within twenty yards of the bear, lo.ad- 

 ing in the meantime, Mr. Braithwaite leveled his rifle, 

 and not being able to get a fair view of the bear's head, 

 fired where he supposed the animal's heart to be. The 

 ball passing through him, the latter sprang back off the 

 moose, and staggered and fell, the blood running from 

 botli sides. After retreating a few steps he stopped, and 

 looked around to see where tlie shot came from. Not 

 being able to get a fair view of his head, Mr. B. again 

 fired at the same part of his body, and again struck him. 

 This seemed to give him new energy, and ha started off 

 on a run for the stream, 



Mr. B. then tuj ned around to the Indian, thinking that 

 he had the bundle with the cartridges, hitending to load 

 and follijw, but found that he ha,d not bruuglit up the 

 ainmnnilion. Tliere was nothing left Ijut to go back, 

 wliich Mr, B. did, and reloaded, ll took some time to 

 find the bundles, and in tlio me.autime a heavy thunder- 

 storm, .icconipanied by rain, had set in. They took up 

 the trail and followed 'it easih", guided by the feet marks 

 and blood, for about 200 yards; the woods then getting 

 very open, the rain bad washed out the blood aud tracks, 

 BO that they lost the trail, and as night was coming on, 

 returned to the moose and prepared to camp. 



The moose they found nearly dea<l ; it was a spring 

 calf, and would weigh about ^00 pounds. After dress- 

 ing the meat and cooking some for supper, they laid 

 down to rest. It rained nearly all night, and as all they 

 hadin the way of provisions was the moose meat, and 

 they had eight miles to go for lin>ad, they did not follow 

 up the bear, which they could have done. The moose 

 hide the Indian carried to the settlement. 



A Kingbirds C.a.tch FiSK.—h'ditor Forest and Stream :— 

 Probably most observing people have noticed with what 

 unerring expertness the kingbird (or bee martin) will 

 catch insects in the air. These birds are very abundant 

 about my premises, nesting in some cases within a few 

 feet of my residence. I never disturb them, believing 

 them not only a valuable insectiverous bird, but having 

 frequent ocular demonstrations of I heir valuable ser- 

 vices in driving olf hawks and crows. I have often 

 noticed them striking the surface of the water in my fLsb 

 ponds, but supposed they were either taking a b.ath or 

 else catching insects which were Ihdng near the surface 

 of the water. When I constructed" my bass pond, a few 

 years ago, I stocked it with minnows to .afford ample 

 food for the bass. At times the entire surface of the 

 pond seems alive witli them, A few I'ays ago 1 oliseaved 

 at least a half dozen kingbirds perched on trees and Imslies 

 near the margin of the pond, and almost eveiy moment 

 some of them would dive into the water precisely like a 

 kingfisher, and I concluded they were catching bugs or 

 other insects which were floating upon the siuface of the 

 water, W^atching them closelj', I soon saw one of them 

 leave the water vrith something perceptibly shining in its 

 bill. It alighted on a tree about Hfty yards from where I 

 was sitting, and acted precisely as a kingfisher does when 

 killing a fish. Taking a telescope, I also took an obser- 

 vation and discoveretl that the kingbird had a minnow 

 not less than three inches long. I continued my ol)si?rva- 

 tions for about fifteen minutes, and iJurinp, that time 

 these birds caught several small minnows .■ual ate them. 

 Others more ohservant may havelong known of this trait 

 of the kingbird, but I have' never chanced to read or hear 

 of it, and quite likely may lie laughed at for my verdancy 

 in reporting what may be well known to every ornitho- 

 logio amateur. " Milton P. PurRCE, 



A COTXVfiViViMM.—Summerjuild, St. Clair County, III., 

 Aug. 2'2d. — In the spring I shot a heron ^vhich was car- 

 rying in its bill a dead snake about fiftein inches in 

 length. Some five inches of the reptile's t;le was drawn 

 through a slit in the lower mandible of the bird, and was 

 held there so firmly, even after the bird was dead, that 

 the snake would have been torn to pieces easier than 

 withdrawn froni the bird's bill. How does the liird got 

 the snake there? G. B, R. S. 



We do not get from our correspondent's description 

 any very clear idea of how the snake was attached to the 

 bird's biU. Was fclie bill split along the side, or did the 

 snake lie between the vanii of the mandible and pass 

 through the chin? 



Cro w.s ks Fruit TiUK.vm.—Fdilor Forest and Stream : 

 — I send you the following item from a late paper, and 

 can supplement it with a little experience of ray own : 

 "Malachi P. Djdge, living near Manchestei", N. H., 

 recently saw five large crows descend from a tall pine 

 tree in the Stark woods and alight in a tree laden with 

 ripe August apples. Each crow [ilanted its bill lirmly 

 into a rosy specimen,, aud, detaching it from the stem, 

 flew away with the prizg to the pine, where they ate the 

 fruit with evident relish." A short time ago I happened 

 to notice the almost daily visit of a small party ot crows 

 to a certain tree in my apple orchard, and it occurred to 

 me that the fruit might be the attraction, as it was a, 

 large, tender and sweet v.u iety. A visit to the tiee 

 proved my surmise to be orrect. They had destroyed 

 quite a number of apples by pecking out from a quarter 

 to a half. When the stem would give way the apple fell 

 and another would ba attacked. This may be nothing 

 new, but in living on a farm constantly visited by crows 

 for nearly thirty years, I have never bad occasion to ac- 

 cuse them of this mischief before, though the indictment 

 was strong enough without it. If any of yom- readers 

 have had a similar experience I hope we shall hear from 

 them. Respectfully yours, F. C, Bkown, 



, ^Framinghain, Mass., Aug, 'i5th. 



An Unlucky Crow.— Mr. George G. Cole has related 

 to us the following incident, which occurred not long 

 since near Glen's Falls, N. Y.: Mr. H, P Ghampney, ui 

 that place, being annoyed by Large hawks which prey 

 upon his chickens, keeps his'shot gnn loaded and kills a 

 great many of them. A sliort time ago a hawk was seen 

 approaching- the house, but before the owner could seize 

 his gun the bird had passed ovit of range and was passing 

 over a piece of woods. Here it was seen to seize a crow, 

 and after comuig nearly to the ground to bear it heavily 

 off and alight a short distance further on among some 

 tall weeds. Curiosity prompted Mr. Champney to pro- 

 ceed to the spot, where he found hawk and crow still 

 struggling on the ground, and by a lucky shot killed 

 both of them. The hawk, from the meager descriptiou 

 given of it, would appear to have been a young goshawk. 



THE FIRST DECADE OF THE UNITED STATES FISH 

 COMMISSION. 



ITS PLAN OF WORK AND ACCOSU"LISIIED RESULTS, SCIENTIFIU 

 AND ECONOMICAL. 



J BY a. BROWN GOODE.--* 



There are nine departments of the government devoted, 

 in part or wholly, to researches in pure and applied 

 science — the Geological Sur\'ey ; the Coast aud Geodetic 

 Survey; the Naval Observatory ; tlie National Museum; 

 the Department of Agricultim' ; the Entomological Com- 

 mission ; the Tenth Census, with its special agencies for 

 the study of the natural resources of the country; the 

 Smithsonian Bureau of Ethnology, and the Commission 

 of Fish and Fisheries. The Smithsonian Institution, es- 

 tablished upon an independent foundation, should also be 

 mentioned, as well as the Medical Museum of the army, 

 and the various laboratories under the control of the 

 Army and Navy Departments. 



The Geological Survey is not now carrying on any Of 

 the schemes of zoological and botanical mvestigatiou en- 

 gaged in by its predecessors. 



'The work of the Entomological Commission and that 

 of the census, though of extreme importance, are lim- 

 ited in scope and duration, while that of the Agricul- 

 tural Department is necessarily, for the most part, eco- 

 nomical. 



The work of the National Museum is chiefly confined 

 to the study of collections made by government stirveys 

 or inaividual collectors and sent in to be reported upon. 



The work of the Fisli Commission, in one of its iispoctp, 

 may perhaps be regarded as the most pi-ominent of the 

 present efforts of the government in aid of aggressive 

 biological research. 



On the 9th of February, 1874, Congress passed a joint 

 resolution which authorized the appointment of a Com- 

 missioner of Fish aud Fisherii:s. Tne duties of the 

 Commissioner were thus defined : -To prosecute investigt- 

 tions on the subject (of the diminution of valuable fishes) 

 with the view of ascertaining whether any and wh-at di- 

 minution m the numbei ot the tood h^hi s ot the coa t 

 and the Ukesot the United States has tiken jdace , and, 

 if so, to whit i iuse-> the sime lo due and also whether 

 any and what piolectue piolubiloiy oi pieoautiouary 

 measuies should be ad iptt d in llu [iitmises, and to it- 

 port upon (he siiue to Con^^ies^ 



The lesolution ebtabhshuig the < hi e of Conimi-.-.ioner 

 of Fishenes lequired th it the p i ■. u to be a]>poiuted 

 should be leivil ofhi ti ot the (ii\ernnieut et pioved 

 scientmc ami pi icti d icpiiiutuifp witli tlu h hts of 

 the coast, to seive withoul ad liti m il din The 

 choice was thus piicticilh limu I t i imtor 



whom, in fact, the ofhce hid b 1 lof. 



Baird, at that time assistant sf ell 1 11 \ l i n nnn 



institution, was appointed and enteied ttunn 0^011 his 

 duties. 



The summer of 1880 marks the fenth season of ac- 

 tive work since its inception in 1871. The Fish Com- 

 mission now fills a place tenfold more ext!-n-;ive .and 

 useful than at first. The present essay aims t > sliow, in 

 a general way, what it has done, is doing ami expects 

 to do — ^its purposes, its methods, its results. 



THE PLAN OF WORK. 



The work is naturally divided into three sections ! — 



1. The systematic invesiigation of the waters of the 

 United St.itos and the biolo-ieal and pliysical problems 

 wliich they present. The scientihc studies of the Cum- 

 niission are ba.sed upon a liliei-al and pliilo-ophical inter- 

 pretation of the law. In making his origuial plans the 

 Commissioner insisted that to study only the food-fiahta 

 would be of little importance, and that aseful conclu- 

 sions must needs rest upon a broad foundation of inves- 

 tigations purely scieniilic in cliaracter. The life history 

 of species of ecoiioniic value shoiihi be understood from 

 beginning to end, but no less reipiisite is it to know the 

 histories of the am'mals and plants upon which they 

 feed or upon whicii their food is nourished ; the histories 

 of their enemies and friends and the friends and foes 

 of their enemies and friends, as well as the cui-rents, tem- 

 peratures and other physical phenomena of the waters n 

 relation to migration, reproduction and growth, Aneoci- 

 sary accompaniment to this division is the amassing of 

 material for researcli to be stored in the National and 

 other museums for future use. 



3 The investigation of the methods of fisheries of 

 past ami present, and tho statistics of production and 

 commerce of fishery products. Man being one of the 

 chief destroyers of fish, his influence upon their abun- 

 dance must be studied. Fishery methods and apparatus 

 must be examined and compared with those of other 

 lands, that the use of those which threaten the destruc- 

 tion of useful ttslies may be discouraged, and that those 

 which are inelllcient may be replaced by others more 

 serviceable, .-Statistics of industry and trade must be se- 

 en led for the use of Congress in making treaties or im- 

 posing tariffs, to show to producers the best markets, and 

 to consutners where and with what their needs may bo 

 supplied. 



3. The introduction and multiplication of useful food 

 fishes throughout the country, esp-ciaUy in waters under 

 the jurisdiction of the general government, or those 

 common to several States, none of which might feel 



